Spring fever As action-packed as the holidays are, they can be a real dead zone when it comes to decent shows.

Up and autumn! Behold! The prime of the approaching fall local rock crop.

Dark matter To paraphrase some wisdom from Jake "The Snake" Roberts, if a man has power, he never has to raise his voice. Jake was explaining why, unlike his adversaries, he didn't keep screaming gibberish. But it's a universal truth.

Soul training Mayer Hawthorne rose to instant retro-pop acclaim the same way that everyone from Al Green to Michael Jackson moved on up — work and luck.

On a roll When I go bowling with bands, it’s usually to extract them from their natural habitat and place them in a controlled environment for study. In the case of my recent bowling date with Hallelujah the Hills, though, my aim was true. I just wanted to bowl.

Fantastic damage Unlike hip-hop acts that deny bucking convention for the sake of eccentricity, Anti-Pop Consortium were as clear on day zero as they will certainly be at Great Scott next Thursday about their maverick intentions.

Tropicália storm When Sérgio Dias takes to the Somerville Theatre stage this Sunday with the current incarnation of Os Mutantes, it's a safe bet he'll be beaming with gratitude. "I'm riding the same wave," he says of his band's legendary Brazilian albums, "but this time I have my eyes open."

Girls | Album On their debut long-player, Girls gorge themselves on the all-you-can-eat buffet that is rock's storied past. Somehow, though, they forgot the crucial dollop of excitement or charisma, so we're left with an earful of directionless heartbreak and failure.

The Raveonettes | In and Out of Control Jesus and Mary Chain comparisons aside, this Danish duo established their sound eight years ago by patching together an aural quilt of retro-rock roots — from garage to surf to wall of sound — and haven't wavered since.